CHINA
761
factories. Cotton italians show a decline of 354,000 pieces, or 27 per cent., on the figures of 1908, and cotton lastings a decline of 192,00 pieces, or 17 per cent. The im- portations of the principal descriptions of plain cottons, namely, grey and white shirt- ings, sheetings, drills, jeans, and T-cloths, according to countries of origin, have been as follows: ..
British American Japanese
...Pieces. 10,785,227
19 6.
1997. 8,224,951
1908. 8,993,531
1909. 10,691,448
...
19
8,544,165 733,436
578,647 1,586,989
3,856,231
840,401
986,982
1,396,297
85,003
67,905 141,312
Indian
4
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55
133,855
There
There is, however, a very large increase in the quantity of Japanese cotton cloth of narrow width imported at Dairen, the total figures under this heading being, for 1908, 5,265,000 yards, and, for 1909, 22,798,000 yards. The noticeably smaller value per piece of the leading cotton fabrics is attributed to the larger proportion of cheap grades im- ported. Metals have declined in total value by 5.20 million taels, which is more than covered by the decrease of 5.72 million taels in copper ingots, slabs, and ore. have also been considerably reduced importations of iron pipes and tubes, lead, and tin, balanced by increases in rails and old iron. The total of sundry imports remain at about 220 million taels. The consumption of cigarettes continues to increase, the value of importations from abroad being Hk. Tls. 700,000 more, and that of shipments of local makes at Shanghai for native ports Hk. Tls. 800,000 more than in the preceding year. The excellent crops of rice in Kwangtung caused a reduction of 3 million piculs, valued at 11 million taels, in the importation of foreign rice. The same cause influenced the importation of foreign flour, which, however, is rapidly giving place to the produce of native mills. Imported flour was less than 600,000 piculs, as compared with 1.75 million piculs in 1908 and 4.41 million piculs in 1907, and was valued at 2.7 million taels, the lowest figure since 1898; while the native flour distributed coastwise from Shanghai during the year was 1,490,000 piculs, valued at 5.5 million taels, or about twice the quantity so distributed in the year before. In the importations of kerosene oil there is a decline of some 40 million gallons, of which 37 million gallons falls on the American product and 3 million gallons on the Borneo. Russian oil has increased and Sumatra oil has maintained the figures of 1908. Various reasons are assigned for this reduction of over 20 per ent. in an article which had almost become a necessary in Chinese households; but the most probable reason seems to be the conjunction of its increased price with an abundance of vegetable oil. Electric lighting plant has, however, been installed in many Chinese cities in recent years, and the electric light will more and more compete with the less convenient, less safe, and less attractive oil lamp. Foreign sugar has gained ground to the extent of 7.5 million taels; and an increase of 700,000 piculs, valued at 4 million taels, in refined sugar is significant of changing tastes. Another sign of the times may perhaps be discerned in the value, larger by nearly a million taels, of imported spirits; and in this connection it may be noted that, according to the Hankow trade report, a distillery for the production of Chinese wines and spirits has been established at Hankow. The value of Japanese trade has risen from 89.6 million to 111.5 million taels, and the value of British Indian trade from 34.6 million to 45.25 million. The total value of the trade with Russia, both by sea and through the ports on the Manchurian frontier and on the Sungari, has risen from 38 million to 55.9 million taels. The other leading countries have also shared in the increase, but in less degree, the United States alone remaining stationary.
Exports. Apart from tea, silk, and two or three other articles, a marked general increase has occurred in the leading exports to foreign countries; but the rise of a great export trade in beans is the fact which overshadows all others. From the earliest days of the Foreign Customs beans and beancake have been the principal exports from Newchwang, but for many years the trade was exclusively domestic. About the year 1890 a beginning was made with shipments to Japan, and the traffic soon rose into im- portance, Japan being practically the only foreign buyer of these products until 1908. During the eight years 1900-07 the average annual value of the beans exported abroad was 1.37 million taels. In the spring of 1908, according to a credible published state- ment, a trial consignment of Manchurian beans was sent to London by a well-known Japanese firm. Orders followed, with the result that the total export of beans abroad rose, in 1908, to 4,770,000 piculs, valued at 9 million taels, and in 1909 to no less than 14,438,000 piculs, valued at 32.78 million taels. The soya bean thus took at a bound a position equal to that of tea in the list of exports, and if to the shipments of beans be added those of beancake, giving a combined value of 52 million taels, even the position of silk at the top of the list is already challenged. The yield of silk was good through-